The Playroom from Hell

If there is anything that I hate more than cleaning the bathroom, it's cleaning the playroom. There is something about this fifth level of hell that makes me want to voluntarily run to the dentist and ask for a root canal. The kids enjoy cleaning this room just as much as I do.

Needless to say, the room was a disaster, which is putting it politely. I'm pretty sure it looked like this:

Then I had a brilliant idea:

The playroom was cleaned in less than 90 minutes with zero complaining. Aaron even volunteered to vacuum. 

Oh, Boyd the Elf, I will miss you after Christmas.

Elf Emergency

It happened...Aaron touched the elf. If you are not familiar with the elf on the shelf story, you are not supposed to touch the elf because then they lose their magic.  Here's how it all went down...

Boyd and Snow White were cruising around in the Beetle:

Then out of nowhere Aaron went up to Boyd and touched his hand. Jill came flying around the corner and ratted him out. What does a mother do at 6:30 a.m. with zero caffeine in her system? Well she says "Oh, Boyd needs to go into a hyperbaric chamber to preserve his magic!"

Yup, I made a "hyperbaric" chamber for the elf. I know...

When the kids came home they discovered that Santa's Prep and Landing team took Boyd to the North Pole.

This morning, Boyd returned from Mt. Peppermint hospital and seems to be doing well. Hopefully the sling will be off tomorrow.

The things we do for our kiddos...

When the Elf doesn't show

We started our Elf on the Shelf tradition again the day after Thanksgiving. Boyd (our elf) has been making regular appearances since them, well that's until the kids were unholy terrors. Then this happened:

Yes, Boyd did not return, he left a note though. Did it work? Yeah, not so much. Jill didn't seem impressed and Aaron was totally unfazed by the letter. Did their behavior improve? No...

I think it was starting to sink in at this point that maybe they would have to change their behavior. He did return the following night and their attitudes seems to be on the mend. Now, let's just hope it stays that way.

Our Thanksgiving

I truly hope your Thanksgiving was fantastic and you, like myself, ate your body weight in stuffing.

Aaron helped me in the morning with all of the prep work for the dessert (apple snickerdoodle cobbler), the stuffing and the sweet potatoes. I was afraid we weren't going to have any apples for the cobbler because for every slice I cut, Aaron was there eating another.

We also watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and Jill pretended to be a Rockette the rest of the morning. I don't know what it is about that parade, but it always puts me in the spirit for the holidays.

Thanksgiving was spent at Mimi and Paw Paw's house and we had quite the spread. Aaron insisted on eating the turkey leg and after a few bites he gave up.

After dinner we headed home to relax and then read the Elf on the Shelf story. I really love this tradition and even though by night 10 I'm spent with ideas, it's totally worth it to see their reaction every  morning.

Boyd the elf's first location was their room and the reaction they had this morning was priceless. If it is any indication of how they will react on Christmas morning, it will be perfect! 

I hope you had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

The Adventures of Boyd

We started doing the whole elf on the shelf thing with the kids for a little over a week. At first they weren't too sure what to think of their newly named elf, Boyd. Now Jill is up at 6 am to find out where Boyd moved to. Here are some of his locations:

Day 1:

Boyd was in the playroom admiring the fantasy football trophy. The kids were a little freaked out that he appeared out of nowhere, but by the end of the morning they were telling him things to tell Santa. Aaron would walk by and say, "Psst....hey Boyd...Red...Train"

Day 2:

Elf literally on a shelf. The kids were freaked out that he moved.

Day 3:

Boyd decided to sit up nice and high and watch over the playroom. The kids thought this was silly.

Day 4:

Elf in a wreath, or tree as Jill called it. Jill thought this was hilarious by the way.

Day 5:

Elf on another shelf, this time in the kiddos room. They thought it was silly that he was in their room. Boyd also took a tumble off the shelf, thankfully nobody saw and mommy was able to put him back in his location.

Day 6:

"Don't forget your keys!"

Day 7:

Making Mommy's coffee. Aaron told Scott that Boyd was a bad boy because he had Mommy's coffee and he had to give it back.

Day 8:

Boyd was caught playing with the blocks. This brought an unexpected freak out from Aaron. He said he was all done with Christmas and Boyd and that he just wanted his blocks back. It should be noted that this morning he was mad that Boyd was not playing with the blocks and they he, like a good elf, put them away. Sigh.

Day 9 (today):

Boyd must have seen that Daddy brought Mommy flowers, so he thought he would bring us one too. Isn't he nice! Both of the kids thought it was really sweet.

I'm still not sure who this whole thing is more fun for, us or the kids.

The Elf on the Shelf

I finally went out yesterday and got The Elf on the Shelf. I think this year is the perfect year to start this with the kiddos and Scott and I were really excited to start the tradition. Plus, if it encourages good behavior we are sold.

Last night we read the kiddos the story of the elf on the shelf and it came time to name our little pixie friend. Here's how that went...

Jill: Um Ariel.
Me: Um....he's an elf not a mermaid. Aaron, what name do you think?
Aaron: Larry Boy.
Me: He's not a singing cucumber, any other suggestions?
Jill: Boyd.
Aaron: Yeah, Boyd.
Me and Scott: Boyd?!
Jill and Aaron: Boyd.
Me: Ok, Boyd it is.

I have no idea where they got the name Boyd from, but Boyd it is. Jill found him this morning watching them in the playroom....



Jill: Um, what's that?
Me: Boyd the elf, remember we read the story about him last night.
Jill: Oh yeah....Santa....hmmm....

When Aaron got up Jill showed him Boyd and Aaron asked to speak to him.

Aaron: Boyd, hey Boyd. I want a red train. (I'm so glad this is the part of the entire story he remembered...)
Jill: Ooooh I want an elephant Boyd!
Me: I'm sure Boyd will tell Santa, but you have to be good, remember?
Aaron (whispering): Boyd...red....train.

This is going to be awesome.